In Memory of...

As many of you know, we recently lost two pillars of our community - Tracey Mast and Sherry Nisly.

Both Sherry (Royaltech) and Tracey (sexypineapple) contributed a great deal to the club, volunteering their time and giving generously of themselves to other members.
They exemplified the spirit of the PaperBackSwap community, and they will be missed by many.
Please consider honoring their memories with a donation of credits which will allow us to get new books for their respective elementary schools, where each of them first developed a lifelong love of reading.

Thank you for donating, and please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Thank you, PaperbackSwap Members!

We hit our goal!

We are all very sorry to hear about the passing of Sherry (Royaltech), one of our beloved members here at PaperBackSwap.com. Sherry was with us for many years and will be remembered fondly as someone who was always willing to help out others and to share in her knowledge of the club.

Sherry was selected as a Member of the Month, Book Data Collector, Book Cover Image Approver, and ever helpful Tour Guide. She was a Friend of PBS (Gold Level), donated to our Military Donation Book Drive and the School Book programs. She was also instrumental in the first publishing of our very own member contributed PBS Cook Book.

In memory of Sherry, her husband Marcus (also a club member) and family, have asked that we set up a book donation memorial for her. The two schools that her family have chosen are very special to their family. Sherry and all three of her children attended Chandler Elementary School and Chamberlin Elementary School both in Goshen, Indiana.

The family has asked that members contribute book credits in her memory so that we can provide new books to the children of these elementary schools.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time. If you could, we ask that you take a few moments and remember Sherry for the wonderful things that she did for our club. On behalf of the family, thanks in advance for your consideration and support.

Now, 18 days after her death, hundreds of Goshen children will have a chance to embrace reading for their own lifetimes.

The family of the late Sherry L. Nisly, who died Nov. 23 after a two and one-half year battle with cancer, Friday presented plaques to two Goshen schools that will benefit from a donation of 1,500 books in her memory.

Mrs. Nisly obtained many of her books through the online service paperbackswap.com. Members of the organization mail each other books and accrue credits for each book traded. They then can use those credits to select books from other members.

After Mrs. Nisly died, her husband Marcus, also an avid reader and member of the Web group, posted a notice about her death. Memorial donations then began to flow in to honor her.

Donations and her credits for books from her involvement will allow the organization to provide 1,500 books to two Goshen elementary schools.

"Within a few days, they maxed out for 1,500 credits," her son, Eric Nisly, Goshen, said. He explained his mother attended both Chamberlain and Chandler elementary schools and Eric and his brother, Todd, attended Chandler, so those schools were targeted to benefit from the book donations.

Eric and his father announced the gifts to the schools and their libraries Friday.

Eric explained his mother "always enjoyed reading. She worked with me (on reading)," when he was a student. She also volunteered a couple years at Chandler, he said.

"We were flabbergasted," said Chamberlain Principal Don Jantzi. He said the announcement sounded too good to be true and just came out of the blue. "We thought someone was pulling our leg."

"We are thrilled to have 750 books coming," he said. He noted that Sherry attended Chamberlain and at least one staff member there still remembers her.

"It’s great fun. It’s like winning the lottery," said Lisa Lederach, principal at Chandler Elementary School. She said school officials will be able to pick out 750 paperback books from Scholastic Books for the school’s library.

"It’s a very cool thing," Lederach said. "Blessings to Sherry and her family."

She said she understood that Sherry was a student for a time at Chandler, but went on to Chamberlain.

Thank you, PaperbackSwap Members!

We hit our goal!

The love of reading starts at a young age. Tracey found her passion in life through books while learning to read at Hums Elementary and then carried it with her through the rest of her life. She joined our national book club, PaperBackSwap.com, where she found many others who shared her love of reading.

In that community she made many new friends who cared about her deeply and will remember her for all the joy and happiness that she brought into their lives. In her passing, the members wanted to remember her in a special way.

On behalf of Tracey, her family and friends, we are pleased to present a gift of 1,000 new books to Hums Elementary School. We hope that many children are inspired by her and trust that they will cherish books and her love of reading the same way that she did. Our best wishes to the children and future readers of Hums Elementary School.

Thanks in advance to all who are able to remember Tracey with a donation.

The entire team here at PBS extends our condolences to her family and her many friends. Thanks to Gail P. (TinkerPirate) for the beautiful pineapple design above. If you would like to leave comments about Tracey by clicking Add Comment on this page, we will share them with the family.

Richard (Club Founder) and the PaperBackSwap Team

Update from the Hums Elementary...in Memory of Tracey Mast:

March 1, 2011

Dear Paperbackswap Members,

On behalf of Hums Elementary School, I would like to thank you for the generous donation of hard and soft cover books to the Hums Library donated in memory of Tracey Hunter Mast. Tracy attended Hums in the 1980's and was an avid reader with fond and special memories of her years at Hums. Each donated book has a dedication stamp with her picture on it. Tracey's family was present when the Board of Schools Trustees accepted the donation. They were quite moved and their appreciation was obvious.

I am sure that these books will be appreciated and will enhance the reading experience of many students now, and in future years. What a beautiful way to honor the memory of Tracey.

Thank you, PaperbackSwap Members!

No active programs at this time.

2000 credits have been donated.

Dear Friends and Family of LeAnne Grant (Gracious-Granny),

We are all very sad to hear about the passing of LeAnne Grant (Gracious-Granny). She was a wonderful club member and someone who always reached out to help others. She was one of PaperBackSwap's original members, having joined the club in October of 2005. To say that she was an active member here is an understatement. Many of you have received books from her over the years. We looked at her record - she mailed almost 700 books without ever having a problem swap. We know that often she gave the books she received here to others who wanted them instead of keeping them for herself - that is the type of giving person that she was.

She was also very helpful as a PaperBackSwap Tour Guide, and was selected to be Assistant Tour Guide Coordinator because of her superior ability to help others. Many new members have Gracious-Granny to thank for introducing them to the club, and for help in answering questions and providing guidance. We thank her for her dedication and commitment to making this club a better place. She will be missed deeply by so many.

Her family has asked that we set up a special page to remember her and honor her. I spoke with her daughter Brenda today, about LeAnne's lifetime love of reading. From the time she was a child, she was passionate about books.

We are now accepting donations of book credits or checks made out in her honor. The donations will be used to purchase elementary school-level books to be given in LeAnne's honor to a very rural, small school with 270 children--Shamrock Elementary School, in Shamrock, Texas. Checks can be made out to "PaperBackSwap.com" and should be noted in the memo section of the check "LeAnne Grant - Gracious Granny".

Thanks in advance to all who are able to remember LeAnne with a donation.

The entire team here at PBS extends our condolences to her family and her many friends. If you would like to leave comments about LeAnne by clicking Add Comment on this page, we will share them with the family.

We appreciate your book donations!! We love to read and we have been enjoying all the books. Thank you so much! We hope you enjoy seeing the photos of the kids and their thank you notes and drawings

Jennifer Henard

4th Grade Shamrock ISD

5/17/2010

A final note of thanks....

We continue to be genuinely overwhelmed and amazed by the generous spirit and compassion of you, our PBS community. Your response to this tribute to LeAnne Grant surpassed our expectations, and we are honored to have been able to be a part of it.

The new books will be in the hands of the children of Shamrock Elementary later this month, nurturing new readers and future PBS members! We truly appreciate, and thank you, for the continued support of Paperbackswap.com's charitable donation programs.

Richard and the PBS team

5/10/2010

A thank you from the Shamrock Elementary Librarian...

I am the K-8 Librarian at Shamrock Elementary and Jr. High. I would like to extend a thank you to all the donors who so graciously donated books to our school in LeAnne Grant’s memory. Wow -- so many books, that’s amazing.

I do not keep a huge amount of paperbacks in the library simply due to the fact of wear and tear. Elementary and Jr. High children are very hard on books as you can imagine. However, I would be honored to put into circulation some of the books. I think it might also be of good use to allow some of the classroom teachers here to have some of the books for their classroom libraries. Additionally, our school is classified as “Title One” meaning a great percent of our students are low income. I think it might also be nice to award some or all of the students with a book that they could call their own. Thank you again for your donations!

Shanda Hall

K-8 Librarian, Shamrock Schools

4/23/2010

A Thank you from LeAnne's dear friend, Cali....

WE did it everyone!!! =D 2,000 credits for the LeAnne Memorial Fund "Books for School" program! Such a *HUGE* Thank You to everyone who donated, or just knew LeAnne and showed their support. Not only that, but Leslie and Richard deserve nothing short of a Gold Medal for getting this page up and running so fast! Not to mention providing HUGE shoulders to lean on! This was truly an amazing feat in such a short period of time! Thank You again! =) Cheers! And Happy Reading! Cali

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." - Audrey Hepburn

Recently my mother passed away on March 14, 2010 on a beautiful Sunday morning. You knew her as Gracious_Granny (LeAnne Grant).

My mother was a special person who always was willing to help anybody at anytime. I would like to express my appreciation to PaperBack Swap who gave my Mother a purpose in her later years. Paperback Swap saved her life because she had become home bound. She enjoyed helping people learn about the web site and helped them find the books they were looking for. She made many friends over the past 5 years.

I wish I could express my feelings about PaperBack Swap because, it was a savior to me. I always felt guilty leaving her at home while I went to work. I worked many long hours and sometime 7 days a week. However, she had made so many friends and contacts through PaperBack Swap that it kept her very busy and she was happy that she could contribute in a small way to many people. Therefore, I felt less guilty because I knew she was happy helping people.

Sometimes, she would talk about her friends at PaperBack as her family. I am glad you were her extended family. She needed you and I needed all of you!

My mother read all my life. As a result I read and my family reads. Nowadays, people don't have time to read and would rather be entertained through other media. I think there is no better entertainment than my imagnation. My Mom taught me that important lesson as a child. I can still see Mom in bed reading her books. Sometimes, she would have a stash of Hershey kisses beside her bed.

Today, as I was preparing for the funeral, I ran across a postcard that I sent to mom many years ago. It was a Winnie the Pooh post card that said: “Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."” The reason this card was important to me was because on the back of the card I wrote Mom you will always be my Pooh! In the last few days of Mom's life I was Pooh. I believe that mom was Pooh for all her friends at PaperBack Swap!

I wish I could tell each and everyone of you Thank You for being kind to my mother and making her life worthwhile. A Special Thank You to Cali Muir! “If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever!” Thank you, Cali, for being my mom's friend and for being a new friend for me.